Chelsea confirm Monaco chief Laurence Stewart is joining as their new technical director.
Controlling owner Todd Boehly has been busy revamping Chelsea's staff off the pitch and he has pushed hard to land Stewart, who will focus on 'football globally' as part of his new role.
Stewart said: 'I'm delighted to be joining Chelsea and excited about the vision and direction of the club under the new ownership group.
'I am excited to join them to help them build a world-class global sporting organisation to consistently win on the pitch at the highest levels and provide player pathways to help develop our talent.'
Chelsea chairman Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali added: 'Laurence is an important appointment as we plan to build a deep sporting team that will collaborate closely.
'Laurence is a world-class football leader who understands talent management, data and scouting, player development and performance.'
Stewart is seen as a real coup for Boehly as he fleshes out his recruitment off the pitch.
The director, originally from England, has RB Leipzig, Manchester City and the FA on his glittering CV.
Restructuring off the pitch has been central to Boehly's plans since he took charge from previous owner Roman Abramovich.
Long-standing director Marina Granovskaia and technical advisor Petr Cech left their roles when Boehly took over in May.
Boehly operated as an interim football director, as well as as co-owner, but that would not be sustainable long term and he is now assembling a star-studded cast of executives.
RB Leipzig chief Christopher Vivell, who left the German club last month, and Joe Shields, who is leaving Southampton, are among those expected to follow Stewart through the door.
The club statement:
Stewart will join Chelsea when he completes his commitments to AS Monaco where he is currently technical director, having moved to the Ligue 1 club in June 2020. During his time at Monaco, the team recorded consecutive third place finishes in Ligue 1 and was a finalist in the 2021 French Cup.
Prior to his role as the technical director at AS Monaco, Laurence was the global head of scouting at Red Bull Soccer International. Earlier in his career, Laurence was the head of performance analysis at Manchester City, senior recruitment coordinator at Everton, and was with the England national team in a performance analyst role for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
On his appointment to his new role, Stewart said: ‘I’m delighted to be joining Chelsea and excited about the vision and direction of the club under the new ownership group. I am excited to join them to help them build a world-class global sporting organisation to consistently win on the pitch at the highest levels and provide player pathways to help develop our talent.’
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali said: ‘Laurence is an important appointment as we plan to build a deep sporting team that will collaborate closely. Laurence is a world-class football leader who understands talent management, data and scouting, player development and performance.‘
Chelsea wishes to thank the owners of AS Monaco and their management team for supporting the recruitment of Laurence to Chelsea's project.